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Bowe, Chiefs rally to shock reeling Chargers

Oct 1, 2007 - 1:36 AM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- Thanks to a breakthrough performance by Dwayne Bowe, Norv Turner remained winless against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Bowe collected a season-high 164 receiving yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown Sunday as the Chiefs rallied for a shocking 30-16 triumph over the San Diego Chargers.

It was the second straight victory for Kansas City (2-2), which entered the season as a long shot to contend in the AFC West Division.

Conversely, San Diego (1-3) was the consensus preseason favorite to win the division, despite the fact that Turner was replacing the fired Marty Schottenheimer as the Chargers' coach.

But the Chargers certainly have not resembled a division winner - let alone a playoff team - so far this season and are off to their worst start since 2003, when they began 0-5 and finished with a 4-12 overall mark.

"(The Chargers) are a good football team, and I understand where they are right now," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "We've kind of worked our way out, and now we're 2-2. We need to enjoy this one."

After grinding out an ugly win over the Chicago Bears in their season opener, San Diego has lost three consecutive contests by an overall margin of 47 points - an average of nearly 16 per game.

Those numbers certainly are a far cry from last year, when the Chargers went a league-best 14-2 before losing to the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs.

"We've got a lot of ground to make up and lot of room to improve," San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers said. "Obviously, we didn't think we'd be sitting here 1-3. It's a tough loss - like all of them."

The Chargers overcame some early sloppy play in this one and entered the break with a 16-6 lead. But the Chiefs completely dominated the second half, scoring the game's final 24 points and pushing Turner's career record vs. Kansas City to 0-6.

"The first half of the game went very much like I expected it to," Turner said. "We gave them opportunities to stay in the game with two turnovers in the first half.

"Obviously, when you let a team stay in it like that and turn the ball over in the second half, we didn't give ourselves an opportunity to finish the game the way we should have."

In three different coaching stints in the NFL, Turner owns an unimpressive career mark of 59-85-1.

The fans at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium voiced their displeasure with Turner's performance by chanting "Marty, Marty, Marty," over the waning moments of Sunday's contest.

"There is nothing I can do about the reaction of the crowd," Turner said. "The things I've got to be concerned with and concentrate on are the things we can control as a football team."

However, it was Bowe - not Turner - who initially turned the fans' cheers to jeers. The 23rd overall selection in this year's draft, Bowe finished with eight receptions - also a season high - and delivered the key play with 11:46 remaining.

With Kansas City facing a 3rd-and-19 from its own 49-yard line, Damon Huard found Bowe on a short crossing route. After shaking off a pair of defenders, the 6-2 Bowe raced down the right sideline for a 51-yard touchdown, snapping a 16-16 tie and giving the Chiefs the lead for good.

"We were just trying to make a quick pass and hope someone could do something with it," Bowe said. "It was a great play, a great throw, a great pass and a great win."

"That's why we drafted (Bowe)," Edwards said. "We knew he was a big-play guy. We're going to throw him the ball. He's ready to play."

Just under 4 1/2 minutes later, Kansas City doubled its advantage when linebacker Derrick Johnson sacked Rivers, jarring the ball loose. Rookie cornerback Tyrone Brackenridge recovered the loose ball at the 50 and scampered untouched into the end zone to make it 30-16.

"I was getting ready to throw," Rivers said. "It was a play that takes a little time to develop. I think I was fixing to have Malcolm Floyd down the field.

"I take responsibility for every turnover, but there are certain situations where we're all involved in it."

San Diego marched to the Chiefs 5 on the ensuing drive, but Rivers threw four consecutive incomplete passes to end the Chargers' faint comeback hopes.

Huard completed 17-of-29 passes for 284 yards, two TDs and two interceptions while Larry Johnson rumbled for 123 yards on 25 carries for Kansas City, which snapped San Diego's nine-game home winning streak.

"We kept our composure," Huard said. "It certainly was a struggle in the first half, and we were down.

"But we knew we were in the game. We were moving the ball a little bit, but once again we weren't scoring points. In the second half, we got some things going."

The Chargers' loss spoiled a terrific outing by LaDainian Tomlinson, who entered the game averaging just 2.8 yards per carry. The reigning league MVP rushed for 132 yards and a score while hauling in five receptions for 22 yards in this one.

Tomlinson scored on a 4-yard run with four minutes left in the first quarter to make it 10-0. The teams exchanged a pair of field goals in the second quarter, and San Diego carried a seemingly comfortable 16-6 cushion into halftime.

"We had success in the first half, and we ran the ball on them pretty good," said Tomlinson, who had just six carries after the break. "In the second half, I don't know.

"Whenever we play Kansas City - you know a division game - we know it's going to be a four-quarter game. We just felt like we were able to do everything we wanted in the first half."

But the Chiefs committed to bringing increased pressure on Rivers in the second half - and the move paid off, as the Chargers managed just 111 yards of total offense after the break.

Dave Rayner drilled a 41-yard field goal to draw Kansas City within 16-9 with 5:28 left in the third quarter, and the Chiefs regained possession three minutes later when Derrick Johnson intercepted Rivers at the Chargers 38.

The Chiefs capitalized just 44 seconds later when Huard found tight end Tony Gonzalez for a 22-yard TD, forging a 16-16 tie.

It was the 62nd career TD reception for Gonzalez, who climbed into a tie with Shannon Sharpe for the all-time lead among tight ends. An 11-year veteran, Gonzalez also caught a pass in his 102nd consecutive game, which ranks second all-time to Ozzie Newsome (150).

Gonzalez finished with five catches for 71 yards for the Chiefs, who won in San Diego for the first time since 2003.

Rivers, who looked completely lost throughout the second half, went 21-of-42 for 211 yards with two interceptions.